Train Shanghai Lhasa, Shanghai to Lhasa Train Tour and Ticket Service

Z164 (return Z166), as one of the early three railway links with Tibet, connects Shanghai with Lhasa. The railway line covers 8 provinces from east to west China and has 4373 km in total. It normally takes about 47. 34 hours to reach Lhasa from Shanghai. As the train travels amid mountainous range, conductors of each compartment of the train will use Chinese, Tibetan Language and English to introduce renowned scenic spots along the railway line as well as Tibetan customs and making of Tibetan dishes, etc.

*Note:The actual arrival and departure time of train, please refer to the information on your ticket, or consult your travel consultant.

About ticket price: The ticket prices above are the net price. In reality, as traveling in Tibet is so popular that the actual ticket demand far exceeds the supply, in-bound and out-bound tourists have to pay more than the net price to buy tickets. The actual price is subject to the market fluctuation. In some cases, the actual price could be double than the net price. Despite the uncertainty and difficulty in purchasing train tickets, Tibet Vista would manage to book tickets at a reasonable price ( usually 20 percent lower than the market price) and promise to offer free service for it. If tourists only want to buy train tickets via Tibet Vista without intending to travel to Tibet, Tibet Vista will have to charge a small amount of service fee.

First put into use on Oct,1st, 2006, Shanghai-Lhasa train distinguished itself from other trains in an unique way. The train equipped with cutting-edge technology was built to dash on the extreme plateau. The long train, consisting of 15 compartments, could accommodate 863 passengers and 2of the compartments were used as soft sleepers that could house 64 travellers and another 7 compartments were made for hard sleepers capable of accommodating 407 tourists. Still another 5 compartments were set aside for hard seat that contained 392 passengers, while the rest compartment was reserved for dinning car and crew of Shanghai-Lhasa railway.

( Shanghai to Lhasa Train Map)

( A group of tourists were taking a photo with Shanghai-Lhasa Train after the train arrived in Lhasa.)

Shanghai Lhasa Train day-by-day Timetable

No.

Train Stations

Sation in Chinese

Arrival Time

Dept. Time

Staying

Days

01

Shanghai

上海

---

20:10

--

Day 01

02

Suzhou

苏州

20:55

20:58

3 minutes

Day 01

03

Wuxi

无锡

21:20

21:23

3 minitues

Day 01

04

Nanjing

南京

22:56

23:05

9 minitues

Day 01

05

Bengbu

蚌埠

00:37

00:40

3minitues

Day 02

06

Xuzhou

徐州

02:09

02:20

7minitues

Day 02

07

Zhengzhou

郑州

05:07

05:14

8 minitues

Day 02

07

Xi'an

西安

11:14

11:24

10 minitues

Day 02

08

Lanzhou

兰州

18:17

18:32

15 minitues

Day 02

09

Xining West

西宁西

21:15

21:35

20 minitues

Day 02

10

Golmud

格尔木

04:19

04:44

25 minitues

Day 03

11

Nagqu

那曲

14:34

14:52

18minitues

Day 03

12

Lhasa

拉萨

19:44

---

---

Day 03

Most of the major attractions along the Shanghai-Lhasa railway route will be seen as the train enters Golmud, for the highlights of Qinghai-Tibet train exist in Xining-Lhasa railway section.

About ticket price: The ticket prices above are the net price. In reality, as traveling in Tibet is so popular that the actual ticket demand far exceeds the supply, in-bound and out-bound tourists have to pay more than the net price to buy tickets. The actual price is subject to the market fluctuation. In some cases, the actual price could be double than the net price. Despite the uncertainty and difficulty in purchasing train tickets, Tibet Vista would manage to book tickets at a reasonable price ( usually 20 percent lower than the market price) and promise to offer free service for it. If tourists only want to buy train tickets via Tibet Vista without intending to travel to Tibet, Tibet Vista will have to charge a small amount of service fee.

Altitude Change of Shanghai to Lhasa Train

(This graph gives you a rough idea of how altitude changes along Shanghai-Lhasa railway line.)

Shanghai International Airport to Railway Station

Shanghai, being the commercial and financial center of mainland China, enjoys an extensive and efficient public transportation system. Shanghai Pudong International Airport serves as the major hub and gateway for foreign tourists to access China. The mass subway system allows tourists to have an easy travel to virtually anywhere in Shanghai.

(Shanghai Pudong International Airport→Shanghai Railway Station)

Tips: To be able to board the Shanghai-Lhasa train, foreign tourists have to show your passport, Tibet Travel Permit, and train ticket to the train inspector. If tourists want to travel in Tibet, you need to find a licensed and trustworthy travel agency to apply for the Tibet Travel Permit.

Shanghai Railway Station

Tips for Boarding the Train

--- fill the health history form Before boarding the train, tourists are expected to fill out an health history form. If one has illness such as hypertension, stroke, chronic respiratory problem, and other cardiovascular disease, he or she shall no board the train for one’s health concern. --- show your train ticket and Tibet Travel Permit Tourists shall bring your train ticket, passport, and Tibet Travel Permit and show them to the train inspector. During the journey, you may be checked many times. So it is advisable to have a few copies of Tibet Travel Permit and passport. --- check your luggage (for detailed regulations) Tourists should put your luggage to the X-Ray scanner and things like gun, poison, explosive, and chemical substance, etc are strictly forbidden. Just follow the instruction of staff of railway station. --- swap ticketsIf you don’t stay with your relatives or friends in the same cabin, you may swap your tickets with other passengers with the help of the conductor.Do remember your cabin and seat No.

Security Matters

Having a ride on Qinghai-Tibet train is relatively safe as each compartment is independent and its door will automatically be closed at night. One is forbidden to enter the compartment without ticket. Of course, nowhere is safer than the compartments of soft sleeper. The cabin of soft sleeper can accommodate 4 travellers and there is a door to shut, which is the perfect choice for a family. Besides, the surveillance cameras and 24-hours police patrol make it even safer on the train.

How to Book Train Ticket?

( A tourist is badly in need of a train ticket outside the train station.)

--- with the help of a licensed travel agency ( highly recommended)

( To foreign tourists, it is highly recommended choosing a reliable and licensed travel agency to book your ticket to Tibet. Not only can the travel agency book your ticket but help foreign tourists apply for and successfully get Tibet Travel Permit together with offering a customized Tibet travel itinerary. In this respect, Tibet Vista, enjoying partnership with railway stations nationwide for years, is a viable option.)

( However, the website has no English version and more importantly the online payment is limited to bank account in mainland China. During the peak season and even the off season of Tibet tourism, it is difficult for foreign tourists to book train tickets.)

--- Train Ticket Office

( Tourists can directly go to the train ticket office at the railway station to buy the ticket.)

Attention: Try to Avoid Spring Festival Travel Rush

( Tons of passengers are flocking to train ticket office in the hope of buying a train ticket to head home.)

Though winter is the off-season of Tibet travel, the work load of Shanghai-Lhasa train is never lessened. As the route of Shanghai-Lhasa train stretches across the mainland China and during the spring festival, a sizable number of migrant workers from the economically developed eastern China will take this train to head back to their hometown. Therefore, the spring festival rush makes it virtually impossible to book Shanghai-Lhasa ticket. Even the travel agency can do little about it because the number of tourists going to Tibet shrinks considerably in winter and the railway station won’t reserve many tickets for a travel agency.

Other Alternatives to Shanghai-Lhasa Train

Taking Qinghai-Tibet train is truly popular. It’s extremely difficult for individual travelers to buy train tickets themselves during peak season. If one failed finally, don’t be disappointed.There’s another option,taking train or plane from Shanghai to Xining (The genuine starting point of Qinghai-Tibet railway), then heading to Tibet from Xining . There are several daily trains bound for Lhasa from Xining, and the capacity is even greater than Shanghai-Lhasa train. It is much easier to get tickets.)

On the other hand, some travelers may feel uncomfortable spending 47 hours on the train. With the majority of scenic view appearing at the last section of railway line, i.e. from Golmud to Lhasa, so it’s a little bit waste of time to take the train all the way from Shanghai to Xining. If you have enough budget, we highly recommend you taking flight from Shanghai to Xining, and then moving to Tibet by train, in this way you can save time and energy.

How to Get Help on the Train?

Some of the staff on the train speak English and they are easy-approaching and hospitable to foreign tourists. If one runs into any trouble, you may ask the head of conductor for help.

---Swap Seat:

If you find your seat is not with relatives or friends ( pretty common in high season), you may look for the head of conductor to change seat with other passengers if they agree.

---Altitude Sickness:

On Day 3, most of the passengers may have symptoms of altitude sickness (such as headache, fatigue, difficult sleeping, lack of appetite, etc.) as the train reaches Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Now, you may switch on the oxygen outlet to inhale oxygen to ease the discomfort. If the symptom gets worse, you may find the conductor for help and the doctor on the train will come and give you timely treatment.

( An illustration of how to use oxygen outlet on Qinghai-Tibet train.)

Sleep and Eat

There are mainly three categories of accommodations available on Shanghai-Lhasa train, namely soft sleeper, hard sleeper, and hard seat. The Sound sleep matters a lot as to long travel. Given the extreme altitude for second half of the long ride, it is advisable to buy soft sleeper ticket because tourists can have more privacy and enjoy cozier sleeping environment.

( Three passengers are chatting in the aisle outside the hard sleeper. A typical hard sleeper is made up of 6 bunks in a cabin, with 3 bunks on each side. And the space of the top bunk is very cramped and fold-our chairs are readily available for tourists to sit and enjoy the spectacular window view.)

* Hard seat is not recommended as the long ride is a huge challenge to tourists’ stamina and a comfortable accommodation matters a great deal.

Before the departure from Shanghai railway station, do bring enough food. It could be snacks, fruit and instant noodles wrapped in bowls. Sharing snack with roommates is the easiest way to break the silence. The trolleys loaded with food are served in each compartment sporadically and tourists can buy from the staff of train. Besides, Tourists can get free boiled water from hot water dispenser near the sinks. Anther choice is to dine in dinning car.

( Dozens of tourists are having dinner in the dinning car. Tourists can order some traditional Chinese home-made dishes. However, not all the dishes may have Chinese name and the waiter or waitress may no speak English.)

Other Tips:

Where to recharge your mobile phones and electronic devices?

The powerplugfor chargers are located in the corridors OR under your table inthe cabin with the 4 soft sleepers (in between the 2 lower bunks).

Can touristshave shower in the train?Unfortunately, there is no shower room in the train.Dobring some wet wipesin stores anda smalltowel, and small but equally important thing:toilet/tissue paper.

Is it possible to swap ticket with other people to stay with friends or family inthe same cabin?Yes. It is acceptable.You may ask conductor to swaptickets with other passengers to stay with your family or friends.

Is smoking allowed in the cabin?Smoking is strictly forbidden in the trainas thetrain is tightly sealed and pressurized and oxygen is pumped into the carriagewhen the train ascends to extreme altitude. It would be devastating if thetrain caught fire.

Is it necessary to carry Tibet Travel Permit all the time? Make sure you have your passport, Tibet Travel Permit andticket with youas you could be checked many times during the longjourney. It is advisable to havemany copies of Tibet Travel Permit.

How can we minimize the effect of altitude sickness? The effect of altitude sickness onpassengers varies. Yet, to minimize or ease the impact of altitude sickness,one mayprepare somealtitude sickness tabletsbefore boarding the train and take some whenthe train climbs to plateau. There is no need to worry too much thealtitude sickness, the train is built withoxygen suppley system. It is easy to use.

(Tourists can manually switch on the oxygen outlet to have oxygen if one getsheadache or feels any discomfort because of extreme altitude.)

Mr. Derek Wong is sales manager of Tibet Vista Tour as well as designer of Tibet Vitas websites and has been providing specialized travel services to Tibet Vitas travelers for years. He has continued to hone his professional expertise by completing numerous travel specialist courses to China and Tibet and Nepal and Bhutan.

Tibet Vista (Tibettravel.org) is one of the leading travel agencies specializing in Tibet travel operation and consultancy since 1984. The contents, pics and designs of Tibettravel.org are protected by DMCA, and any copying, transferring or any other usage of our website is prohibited. All rights are reserved by TIBET VISTA.